He has immense talent, an incredible family lineage and uncanny versatility that has allowed him to succeed in virtually every form of racing he's attempted, from sprint cars to open-wheel to drag racing.

Plus, he's a truly nice guy to boot.

So will someone explain why John Andretti keeps having nothing but one episode of bad luck after another as a Cup driver? Why is he NASCAR's version of Pigpen, the character in the Snoopy comic series that always has a dark cloud following behind him? Why has Lady Luck abandoned and made a virtual orphan of him?

These questions are particularly appropriate in light of last week's disappointing news that came out of Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Team president/CEO Teresa Earnhardt announced that DEI was restructuring its schedule for 2004 and that Andretti was no longer in its plans. While Andretti will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for DEI at the season-opening Daytona 500, his tenure with the team will end as soon as the checkered flag drops that afternoon.

From a business standpoint, there is some logic to that plan. Pennzoil had pulled its sponsorship of the No. 1, a new potential sponsor fell through and the team is committing a full season effort in the Busch Series to Martin Truex Jr.

But certainly all that didn't occur in just a day or two. Surely, DEI officials had some clue that the team might not be able to secure the sponsorship necessary to field a full-time car for Andretti in 2004.

So, why then, did DEI make such a big deal late in the season by announcing Andretti -- who has two wins, four poles and a career-best overall points finish of 11th (1998) in his Cup career-- would return for a full-time slate in 2004 as part of a three-team operation with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip?

One would think Teresa Earnhardt realizes the incredible marketing attraction she had under her nose, where two of the most legendary surnames in motorsports -- Earnhardt and Andretti -- could be joined at the hip. It would be good business for both sides.

	Imagine the dilemma for DEI if John Andretti winds up winning at Daytona in February.

And, if it was fairly evident that Andretti was not going to be part of DEI's plans for next season, why didn't they release him from his contract or at least let him explore what opportunities he might have in Nextel Cup much earlier?

Instead of staring at the potential of a career-best season with the best team he's ever raced for in Cup competition, Andretti is left in dire straits for 2004. If anything, he'll be in an even worse situation than he was at the perennially underfunded and underperforming Petty Enterprises.

DEI, without question, is an A team, one of the best in Nextel Cup. At its best, Petty was a B team during the years Andretti drove for it. Now, Andretti is faced with the possibility of racing for a team that may be totally off the charts -- it may be underfunded, undermanned and underperforming.

It's possible at this late date in the offseason that Andretti may not find a full-time ride at all for 2004. Of course, if an owner of a smaller team wants to get instant recognition, he'll hire Andretti based solely on his surname.

But Andretti is more than just a name. He has amazing talent that has not been fully tapped in his 10-plus years of Winston Cup racing.

If Andretti has a fault, it's his penchant for loyalty. Perhaps it comes from his Italian roots, his strong familial ties or simply because he's a stand-up guy and he was brought up that way.

No matter how bad a situation is, Andretti will not give up on those around him. He displayed that most prominently when he was with Petty Enterprises. He had several chances to jump to more successful teams, not to mention return to open-wheel racing, but he stuck with the team, believing that a turnaround in fate and fortune was right around the corner.

He stuck with it for more than five years -- hoping, waiting and praying.

And what was his reward for such loyalty? He was fired before midseason this year. Team president Kyle Petty obviously did not show the same type of loyalty to Andretti as John had to the team. And has Team Petty vastly improved since Andretti's departure? Not one bit. If anything, it's gotten worse, proving it wasn't John that was the problem, it was the team's lack of performance.

And now comes the DEI fiasco. Andretti finds himself with nothing after Feb. 15.

But wait, there's still hope: Given DEI's incredible domination on superspeedways in recent years, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Andretti, if given a car equal to those of Earnhardt and Waltrip, may indeed challenge for the win at Daytona.

If that were to happen, maybe Teresa Earnhardt would change her mind and ask Andretti to stay. As good as DEI is collectively as an organization, it would still be better with a guy like Andretti on board.

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@MSN.com.